


Thank You for Saving My Cat

by sidebysidewithafriend



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Firefighter AU, Fluff, Getting Together, Mild angst but not much, jily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23078515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidebysidewithafriend/pseuds/sidebysidewithafriend
Summary: One of the firefighters working to put out Lily's house takes special time to save Lily's beloved cat.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Thank You for Saving My Cat

**Author's Note:**

> from a prompt found on instagram (thewritersgarden) from a tumblr post whose username i couldn't read :( 
> 
> “fireman!AU where person A’s cat gets stuck in the house and person B, the fireman/woman goes to get the cat. Person A asks what they can do for person B. Person B jokingly asks for a date and gets it.”

Lily pushed herself up to a sitting position and breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she was out. She turned back to the house, watching the orange flames that danced over the structure with her heart in her throat. Was it her imagination, or were they growing smaller? 

Most of her stuff could be replaced. But she hoped nonetheless that she wouldn’t have to. 

Then she remembered the one thing she’d left behind and couldn’t replace. Crookshanks. She stumbled to her feet. Legs shaking under her, she ran to the nearest firefighter and grabbed their sleeve. The firefighter gear covered its occupant’s face, but the voice sounded male. “Are you alright?” He took her arm gently, steadying her. 

“I—my cat, he’s still inside and—” Her knees gave out under her, the firefighter’s arm the only thing holding her up. 

He helped her sit down, and crouched down in front of her. “Where’s your cat? Where might I find him?” 

“His bed is upstairs, first door on the left,” Lily managed. “He’s probably there.”  _ Oh, Crookshanks, please be okay.  _

“Okay. You stay there, and I’m gonna go find your cat.” And then he was gone, disappeared into the house. 

Lily curled into a ball, clinging to her knees.  _ Please be okay, Crookshanks.  _ She kept her eyes firmly on the ground in front of her; her peripheral vision suggested there were no more flames, though. The rush of hoses and the shouting of firefighters rang in her ears. Smoke encroached slowly out onto the lawn, its smell acrid. 

Then the fire was out; the firefighters began to relax, and the smell of smoke faded a fraction. Lily sat up, looking for any sign of Crookshanks’s orange fur in the smoke, but she saw nothing, and bit back a sob. When she’d had no-one else around, she’d had Crookshanks. She couldn’t bear to lose him like this. He was a hardy cat; she couldn’t believe he wouldn’t make it out of here. But it didn’t look like he had. 

Out of the grey, clinging smog emerged a figure. The firefighter. And in his arms… 

“Crookshanks!” Lily scrambled to her feet, ignoring the feeling of unsteadiness there, and ran to collect her cat. Crookshanks looked up at her and yawned, looking surprisingly unperturbed considering the smoke rising from his fur. That was just like him, though. She cradled him close to her, burying her nose in his fur and holding on tight to him. Then she remembered her manners and looked up. “Thank you. For saving my cat.” 

The firefighter pulled off his helmet, revealing a young man about Lily’s own age, with warm brown skin and hazel eyes behind round glasses. He was grinning as he tucked the helmet under his arm, and though his skin was smeared with soot, the expression lit up his whole face. “You’re very welcome, madam.” 

“Lily.” She shifted Crookshanks’s weight to one shoulder and held out a hand. 

The firefighter shook her hand with a gloved one. “James.” 

She didn’t know what possessions would be left to her when she went back inside, but she wanted to repay him somehow. Crookshanks meant the world to her. “What can I do for you? To repay you?” 

James grinned even more broadly, and shrugged. “Want to go on a date with me?” 

Lily assumed he was joking. But he wasn’t bad-looking, and he’d helped her so much tonight. What did she have to lose? “Sure.” 

“Really?” He’d pulled off his gloves, and ran his hand through his hair. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I don’t want to, like, force you into anything. I was kind of kidding.” 

That was very sweet of him to say, but it actually made her like him more. She smiled. “I wasn’t. I won’t promise anything more than that, but one date? Sure.” 

He fumbled in a pocket somewhere on his person, then produced a pen with a dramatic flourish. Understanding his intent, Lily held out a hand so he could scrawl a phone number onto it. 

Crookshanks yowled. James laughed and ruffled his fur. “I hope that’s not your cat warning you away from me.” 

Lily shrugged. “If he was, then he’s an ungrateful little sod. I’ll have to give him a talking-to.” 

“Ungrateful, but very cute.” 

Lily laughed. “Careful. If you call him cute too many times, he’ll try and attack you. Not that he could actually hurt you.” 

“I have way too much protective gear on.” 

“Oi, James!” one of the other firefighters shouted. “You gonna give us a hand over here?” 

James grimaced. “Better go do my job.” 

“Yes, you’d better.” She glanced down at the number on her hand and smiled. 


End file.
